This article discusses why effective resource allocation matters and how software can optimize your firm’s process.

What is resource allocation?

Resource allocation is strategically selecting and assigning available resources to a task or project to support business objectives.

In the context of accounting, allocation deals with assigning people and their skills to projects, also known as engagements. The essence of optimal resource allocation for any accountancy firm is matching the right people, with the right experience, qualifications, and skills with the right client and task, at the right time.

Allocation vs. scheduling

Allocation also considers the availability, capacity, and utilization of resources across a firm but should not be confused with scheduling.

Resource scheduling is a crucial part of the resource planning process. After identifying and allocating resources based on the best skills and experience match for an engagement, a resource manager schedules these resources for a specific time and task. The resource scheduling process should ensure that the resources with the necessary skills, experience, and qualifications are scheduled for the right task and at the right stage of the engagement.

Why is resource allocation important?

Effective allocation should:

  • Ensure work is divided evenly among all resources to prevent staff burnout.
  • Empower teams by ensuring resources have the skills, knowledge, and training necessary to complete allocated work.
  • Ensure engagement performance is optimized by matching the right resources, to the right task, at the right time.

In the delivery of any project, poor allocation will knock on overall performance. Without the right skills or knowledge on a project, efficiency, time, confidence, and motivation can be lost along the way.

An optimal resource allocation process in accounting is critical to empower teams, prevent burnout, and ensure engagement performance. In this context, allocation is not only an essential process, but it is also a critical lever for growth and success. Consistently allocating the right resources to the right tasks at the right time is crucial for successful and profitable client engagements. When a firm allocates its resources, it matches the resources that will be dedicated to achieving client and business objectives.

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Benefits of effective resource allocation

Getting it right isn’t always easy, but when done right, effective resource allocation can provide many benefits. Some of the key benefits include:

Staff retention

Poor allocation can contribute to a burned-out workforce. A survey of 1,222 UK accountants and ACA students from the accountancy well-being charity CABA found that two in five accountants feel too emotionally drained from working. When asked about the cause of the stress, 33% reported their work, career, or studies as the root cause.

A firm can use the proper resource allocation process to drive better resource utilization, employee satisfaction, and retention. An effective allocation system will optimize utilization rates without overburdening your people. Effective allocation methods will also prevent other capable and available resources from being overlooked, ensuring tasks are assigned fairly and strategically. In addition, by taking into account individual preferences, interests, and career aspirations when allocating work, your firm can better support professional development and retention.

Client satisfaction

Resource managers’ key focus is ensuring that their clients are provided with the best teams possible, combining industry experience with the right skills and accreditations to ensure maximum quality and efficiency.

Best is subjective, but clients will expect to see individuals with the right qualifications and experience assigned to deliver their engagements. That means those with appropriate skills, insight, and knowledge relevant to the client’s specific business and industry. This could include a combination of technical skills or sector experience, particularly the ‘soft skills required. But these skills do not all have to reside in one person, location, or timezone. An optimal resource allocation system considers these details and identifies a team with the most suitable skills for each project stage. A resource management system that can utilize your people in the best way will benefit staff and client satisfaction alike.

Profitable engagements

Allocating the right resource combinations for complex engagements demands thorough, up-to-date knowledge of your resources’ skills, capacity, and availability. It also requires the ability to accurately predict resourcing decisions’ impact on engagement performance.

In the long term, an effective allocation strategy can help your firm to strike the right balance between over and under utilization of resources. Maintaining this balance reduces the risks of overburdening your team or overspending on resources that are not required. Allocating the right resources to the right engagement at the right time boosts efficiency and cuts the risk of overruns. The combination of greater visibility across all resources and engagement financials helps to ensure projects remain profitable and on schedule.

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How can software optimize your resource allocation?

When you consider the number of moving parts required across multiple large scale client engagements, optimizing resource allocation can be incredibly challenging. An intelligent resource management software solution can help your firm to overcome these complexities and allocate your resources strategically.

Reduce admin via automated best-match resource allocation

Resource management software can allow you to reduce the admin burden on your team and optimize your resource planning with automated best-match resource allocation.

Resource management software streamlines allocation by automatically identifying the best candidates using suitability scoring, considering skills, qualifications, availability, location, and key criteria. This automation increases efficiency, freeing up time for resource managers to focus on strategic tasks.

Easily explore alternative resourcing decisions with greater visibility.

One major opportunity for optimizing allocation is to assess resources across a wider pool of staff by centralizing them in scheduling software. This enables consideration of skills, expertise, and availability at a national and global level, supporting more agile decision-making.

Unexpected changes or the sudden need for additional resources can occur. Intelligent resource management software enables firms to explore staffing options and adapt to changing demands without disrupting existing schedules. Enhanced visibility over available resources makes it easier to consider alternative resourcing decisions when needed. Filters and automated alerts help resource managers identify clashes within schedules, enabling them to prevent or resolve conflicts in real time.

Track skills and preferences to support fulfilling careers

Resource allocation software can help your firm to support career development and staff retention efforts by allowing resource managers to consider skills and individual preferences when allocating work in the system. In addition to attracting and retaining talent, the ability to match skills and preferences to the work assigned will contribute to higher-quality engagements and provide greater visibility of skill shortages.

Resource management software can empower teams by granting them greater autonomy in their work. During allocation, individuals can indicate their preferences for task types, engagements, or industries from available unassigned work that aligns with their grade, location, and business unit.

Increase transparency within the resource allocation process

The business benefits of a more diverse and inclusive workplace are far-reaching. They have positively impacted overall performance and productivity, staff engagement and retention, client relationships, and firm culture.

We’ve previously written about the diversity problem in accounting and questioned how technology can play its part in redressing the balance. An automated allocation system reduces the chance of human bias or favouritism by emphasizing capacity and best skills-experience match. With proper tools and governance, staff see that work is assigned based on set criteria rather than connections, preference or recency bias. Offering this transparency within the resource allocation process is increasingly important for creating a fairer and more inclusive workplace.

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Final thoughts

Regardless of your firm’s size, effective resource allocation hinges on identifying, matching, and utilizing your team’s skills and capacity in line with client demand. The right resource management tools can boost profitability, client satisfaction, and team morale.

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